Soon after Alan Trammell was fired Monday morning as manager of the Detroit Tigers, Jim Leyland was en route to the Motor City as the leading candidate to replace him.

Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski planned to have interviewed Juan Samuel and Bruce Fields both from Trammell’s staff before discussing the opening with Leyland about 24 hours after the regular season ended.

“I am driven to move quickly because I think there could be a lot of interest in Jim Leyland,” said Dombrowski, adding his search could end as soon as today.

Trammell was fired after three seasons in which he failed to turn around a franchise without a winning record since 1993. The Tigers were expected to be close to .500, if not better, but fell short with a collapse toward the end of the season and finished 71-91.

“I thought we responded to everything well except for this last month,” Trammell said last week. “I think, looking back, it is fair to say that we hit a wall.”

Kenny Rogers will not return to the Texas Rangers, who are cutting their ties with the pitcher best remembered this year for throwing a tantrum and shoving two television cameramen.

The Rangers said in a statement that the 40-year-old lefty will not be offered a contract for 2006. He will become a free agent.

“The Texas Rangers organization would like to thank Kenny Rogers for his efforts over the last two seasons and during his entire Rangers career,” general manager John Hart said. “As we look at 2006 and beyond, we feel it is in the club’s best interests to move forward without him.”

Dave Hudgens won’t return as the Oakland Athletics’ hitting coach next season, the club said.

Bulls deal Curry

The Bulls dealt center Eddy Curry to the New York Knicks, ending a contentious negotiation in which Chicago insisted the restricted free agent take a DNA test over a heart problem.

In making the announcement, an obviously frustrated Bulls general manager John Paxson did not specify what Chicago got in return and he did not field questions.

“We will have an announcement tomorrow morning,” Bulls public relations director Sebrina Brewster said. “All we can say right now is we traded Eddy to the Knicks.”

Knicks spokesman Jonathan Supranowitz said the team declined comment on Paxson’s announcement.

The Bulls had insisted that Curry take a DNA test to determine whether he’s susceptible to a potentially fatal heart problem. Curry, who missed the final 13 games of the regular season and the playoffs after experiencing an irregular heartbeat, balked, saying it violated his privacy.

Kapono joins his third team in three years. The former UCLA standout and Artesia High grad averaged 8.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 81 games last season with the Bobcats, the team’s inaugural year. He also had 35 double-digit scoring games and ranked 13th in the league in 3-point shooting.

Beavers charged

Two Oregon State football players and a former teammate have been charged with providing alcohol to an 18-year-old, who was later found dead with more than five times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

Lance Strickland’s body was found in an unoccupied dorm room over Labor Day weekend with a blood alcohol level of .43 percent, officials said. Strickland, who was not a student at the university, had been visiting friends on campus before the Beavers football game against Portland State, Benton County District Scott Heiser said.

Michael Marks and Gregg Peat, both 18, have been charged with two counts of giving alcohol to Strickland and another man, Heiser said. Marks and Peat are both being redshirted this season.

A former member of the team, 21-year-old John Ronnfeldt, faces four counts of furnishing alcohol to Strickland, Marks, Peat and another man, Heiser said.

Ronnfeldt and Marks were arraigned and released. The two are scheduled to return to court on Nov. 3, Heiser said. Peat is to be arraigned today.

U.S. sits stars

With a World Cup berth clinched, U.S. coach Bruce Arena bypassed many of his top players for Saturday’s qualifier at Costa Rica.

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